The invention relates to a fragrance release system comprising a container and a multitude of particles accommodated in the accommodation chamber of the container for deodorizing and/or fragrancing open or closed spaces, especially machine dishwasher or textile washing machines or laundry dryers, said particles having a preferably polymeric carrier material and at least one fragrance, and said container having a plurality of orifices through which emission of the fragrances of the particles from the accommodation chamber outward is possible.
In closed spaces without sufficient fresh air supply, unpleasant odors frequently occur. Such spaces may, for example, be the interiors of machine dishwashers when the dishes present there are very highly soiled and/or remain in the dishwasher over a prolonged period before the washing operation. In order to remove or to reduce such odors, machine dishwasher deodorants are known for machine dishwashers. These deodorants may be formulated in very different ways. For the consumer, it is desirable to obtain an article for deodorizing machine dishwashers or other closed spaces which has an intense product fragrance when it is produced, which not only ensures product identification, but simultaneously conveys the impression of high efficacy and ensures a very reliable release of constant amounts of fragrance in the course of its lifetime. A series of different deodorants for machine dishwashers is described in the prior art.
A fragrance release system as per the preamble of claim 1 is known from WO 02/09779 A1. This known fragrance release system has a container in which a multitude of small particles laden with fragrances is accommodated. The container is provided with a multitude of orifices whose size is dimensioned such that the small particles cannot escape through the orifices. On the other hand, the orifices are dimensioned such that emission of the fragrances of the particles from the accommodation chamber of the container outward is possible. The container itself preferably has an approximately cuboidal shape, with rounded corners and an openable and closable lid. The accommodation chamber of the container may be divided into two sections in which perfumed particles are disposed. The particles themselves consist preferably of a polymeric carrier material which is laden with a fragrance.
In the known fragrance release system, the container is filled with particles preferably between 5 and 95% of the volume of the accommodation chamber, because a maximum particle volume but equally free mobility of the particles should be achieved.
However, the known fragrance release system is afflicted with disadvantages, some of which can be attributed to the design of the container, since the container shape described is suited very little, for example, to accommodation in a machine dishwasher or the like, since the container is relatively large. Another disadvantage is that it is virtually impossible in the case of the selected container shape to virtually fully fill the accommodation chamber of the container with particles, which is desirable because mobility of the particles is undesired especially in the case of use within a machine dishwasher, since virtually the entire surface area of all particles is simultaneously available for fragrance release and the functioning time of the system is limited.
Other solutions for the deodorization and/or fragrancing of washing basins or else machine dishwashers are known from DE 100 55 193 A1 and DE 100 36 850 A1.
Fragrance-containing articles made of ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer are disclosed in the publication WO 91/00744 A1. These are injection-molded plastics plaques which can be hung in the machine dishwasher. Since the fragrance is mixed with the plastic before the injection molding, it is exposed to high thermal stress during the processing. Such thermal stress leads to a partial loss of fragrances as a result of evaporation or thermal decomposition. Such plastics plaques likewise do not exhibit a constant release profile for the fragrances present over their use time.
The publication WO 85/00981 A1 provides a process for impregnating plastics particles with fragrances at low temperatures. One possible use of the particles is for deodorization in machine dishwashers. These particles are said to be effective for between ten and twenty wash cycles.
The prior art also discloses deodorants for use in laundry dryers; for instance, the publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,705 B1 describes a product for fragrancing in laundry dryers which consists of fragrance-containing plastics pearls in a mesh bag. The pearls are fragranced during their production at elevated temperature.
It is an object of the invention to improve a fragrance release system as per the preamble of claim 1 such that effective fragrance release is ensured even over a prolonged period with minimum space requirement of the container.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a composition for deodorizing spaces, especially machine dishwasher interiors, which has an increased fragrance release at the start of use (product identification, demonstration of efficacy) and subsequently reduced but constant fragrancing, the composition being active over a long period and its efficacy being independent of environmental factors such as temperature, moisture or alkalinity.
According to the invention, the object is achieved by the features of claim 1. The subclaims 2 to 20 which follow describe further embodiments.